Individual progress- reality check
In one year from now, where I will be
Virender Kapoor
Most people have great ambitions in life. Some of them are very clear from their school days about the profession they want to join or a career that they want to pursue. These are long term goals which become like a compass to show us the right direction in life. Therefore, first of all it is very important to set a long term goal for ourselves. Once this is done, we should aim to reach our final destination or goal by setting out short term objectives. Even if one is not sure of what the final personal goal is — and it happens with many people- there are many things that can be done to enhance one’s abilities. I have seen most young people wasting their time, wandering aimlessly, not making any efforts to develop themselves. They don’t realize that this is the prime time of their life and if they do not utilize it properly, they will lose a lot in their journey to success. Remember, in ‘self development’, the first word is ‘self’ and you have to develop your capabilities yourself.
I would like to see an individual set ‘one year’ goals to develop three things which are applicable to each and every person, regardless of the profession or education he decides to choose. These are, hobbies, personality and skills which may not be a part of our educational curriculum. Remember, college degrees and school certificates are not enough to take you ahead in life. But these three things can become a major differentiator between you and the rest of your friends or classmates. Please remember, when you go for any interview panel also sees what you have done besides your efforts to obtain a degree and good marks. And a lot of weightage is given to this “additional efforts” that you have put in.
Skills
Make it a habit to learn some thing more than what has been prescribed in your school or your college. For example, you can do a certificate course in animation design or take up a foreign language or take up a course in creative writing. Such short courses give your personality and knowledge base a very big boost. Today many such courses are available. We all use computers but how many of us can type fast. We can’t type fast because we never made efforts to learn typing. Therefore, a typing course can be very useful later in life.
Hobbies
It is essential to develop some hobbies. They not only help as stress busters but also give a different dimension to our personality. Painting, dancing, playing musical instruments, singing, writing poetry or reading all types of novels and literature are some of the things one can develop. These would enhance your abilities and would broaden your horizon.
Personality Development
This is the easiest at a personal level but I seldom see young people doing anything about it. They expect colleges or their teachers to do it for them. At a personal level you must enhance your personality by reading newspapers, good magazines, watching the right kind of television channels and even participating in debates and competitions.
Let me assure you, these three areas if developed properly can make you stand apart distinctly from your friends and classmates or even ahead of your colleagues in the work place. In addition you can do this year on year as a student or even as a professional.
One more important task you should undertake on yearly basis and that is to work on one of your weaknesses. We all have some weak points and we are the only ones who can get rid of these personal weaknesses. For example, some of us have a weakness that we procrastinate or delay things. Some of us are not punctual or are a little lazy. You can take a one year resolve that, “In next one year, I will try not to be late for any event or any appointment”. Then see your progress for that year. To know your weakness is a good thing, but it is more important to get rid of your weakness.
For other three things that I mentioned, you could make a written goal as under for example :-
“In the next one year, I will join a computer course, I will read atleast one magazine a month and I will regularly watch the news at 9 pm to enhance my abilities and general knowledge”. You will be surprised to see a visible change in your self in the next one year. Here is a story of the ant and the grasshopper.
A colony of ants was busy dividing kernels of corn when a grasshopper, weak with cold and hunger, came up and begged, “Please give me some corn to eat. I am weak and ill”.
“But what happened to your food? We worked all through summer to build our winter stock,” said a young ant.
“Oh, I didn’t have time to collect food. I was busy basking in the sun and singing songs,” said grasshopper.
“In that case, you can sing right through winter as far as I am concerned”, said the young ant and turned back to his work.
The moral of the story is that if you don’t work when you have free time, you will regret this throughout your life because others will certainly move ahead of you.
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